Board member resigns over MLS rule in Minnesota

A board member for the Regional Multiple Listing Service in Minnesota has stepped down in protest of a rule banning the use of "MLS" and related terms in company names and Web site addresses, and is now considering whether to take legal action against the MLS. Several other MLS members, including the former chairman of an ethics committee for the Minnesota Association of Realtors trade group, also oppose the rule. As of Sept. 3, those companies that violate the new rule must cease their use of the term "MLS" and "multiple listing service" in company names and Web site addresses. Steve Westmark, of Counselor Realty in Wayzata, Minn., said that after serving for 20 years as a member of the MLS and a board member he resigned this month because he does not agree with the new MLS rule, adding that he may resort to legal action. "I wanted to be conciliatory, I wanted to work through this process with fairness and reasonableness," he said, though he said he cannot agree with the board's deci...